A new bill from Rep. Mo Brooks would give former service personnel preference in when seeking a healthcare job with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The bipartisan bill from Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, and Rep. Bill Owens, D-NY, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to give greater hiring preference to veterans who apply with the VA's healthcare system. The bill, officially known as the Veterans' Assistance to Lower Unemployment and Enhance VA Services Act or VALUES Act, would serve two purposes, Brooks said.

The first would be providing job opportunities for veterans. The second would be helping fill needed positions with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA has been under fire for problems related to delays in patient care.

"Recent revelations of broad mismanagement at the Veterans Administration highlight the need for sweeping reform," Brooks said. "Veterans as a group are highly motivated to help with the health care of their brothers and sisters in arms which, in turn, should result in better veteran health care. Further, and in contrast to current VA management, veterans in the VA are uniquely motivated to appeal to the public and Congress when the VA system fails our veterans by risking veterans' health care and lives.

"A side benefit of (the bill) is that it improves the employment opportunities for our returning veterans, and that is always a good thing," Brooks said.

Recent Labor Department statistics show about 9 percent of the 2.3 million American workers who are post 9/11 veterans are unemployed. Those rates are much higher than the 2013 national average of 7.4 percent.

Meet nine veterans who are on the hunt for a new job here. Read more about today's veterans job fair here.